


If I’m Dreaming (Is This Wrong)

by robindrake93



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anal Sex, Book 4: The Battle of the Labyrinth (Percy Jackson), Cesarean Section, Consensual Underage Sex, Dreams vs. Reality, Knotting, Lactation Kink, Light Angst, Light foot fetish, Luke Castellan Has Scars, M/M, Magic, Male Lactation, Memory Alteration, Mpreg, One Shot, Original Character(s), POV First Person, Porn With Plot, Scents & Smells, Sex Magic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-15
Updated: 2020-12-15
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:01:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28086609
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/robindrake93/pseuds/robindrake93
Summary: While in the Labyrinth, Luke wanders into an alternate dimension - probably - and meets Percy and everything is fine.
Relationships: Luke Castellan/Percy Jackson
Comments: 15
Kudos: 106





	If I’m Dreaming (Is This Wrong)

**Author's Note:**

> If you don't like the font color, click "Hide Creators' Style" at the top and it'll revert to black.
> 
> Don’t reupload/repost my fics.

Inside of the Labyrinth, there was no night or day. There was rarely any light at all, and nothing you could count on to be there for any length of time. Navigating the Labyrinth was a joke; maps didn’t work, the usual tricks for getting out of a maze didn’t work, and leaving a trail of breadcrumbs was more likely to lure something hungry to you than to help you find your way back. The bigger the group, the easier it was to get lost, but solo explorers didn’t come back either. Not even getting into the fact that the Labyrinth was a living, growing thing that could read your mind and change in ways specifically meant to make it your own personal hell. 

All of those reasons were why, even though I’d been catching whiffs of his scent for days, I didn’t follow it. I was sure that the kid was down here somewhere but I was equally sure that the Labyrinth would sooner lead me to my death than to him. His scent was that of a warm tidepool; full of life and salt and water, just a little bit brackish. I liked the smell because I - for the most part - liked the boy whom it belonged to. Seeing him always improved my day because he always showed me a new side of his personality that I hadn’t seen before. More so, he represented hope. However, despite all of that, I never caught more than a whiff of him. It was always there and gone, never any closer or farther away. So I was sure the Labyrinth was playing a cruel trick on me by dangling him just outside of my reach. 

Time inside of the Labyrinth flows more slowly than time outside of it. Thanks to Kronos, I felt every single second that passed as though it was doing so through molasses. I was on a completely different level of time than everyone else, moved and thought so much faster than them, and it was an agony I couldn’t describe. I saw everything in slow motion and had to wait on my slower companions to catch up with every little thing I said or did. Listening to the army give reports in slow motion drove me up a wall almost as much the Olympians did. At least they moved at my speed. A few seconds for me was a few minutes for everyone else. 

The Labyrinth taunted me with his scent. As the days passed, it only grew more clever in how to taunt me. His scent began to grow stronger, as though he was right around the next bend. Sometimes I thought I heard the echo of his sneakers, the sound of his footsteps familiar to me. I knew how he walked; knew that he scuffed his shoes when he walked New York’s streets because he was comfortable enough to slouch there, that when he was trying to be sneaky he put his weight on his heel first, that when he fought he danced around on his toes even though it made him easier to knock over, that when he ran he took long strides that ate up distance. I knew that he preferred sneakers over boots and hated sandals and that when he was home he preferred to be barefoot but at school he had slippers. 

My army and I walked miles through the Labyrinth every day. There was rarely food or drink down here; we carried everything we needed on our backs. Monsters were more reasonable than the people at Camp Half-Blood gave them credit for; they knew to ration their food when needed. After four years, my army didn’t give me much trouble anymore. That was because I was the nice leader; no one had liked Atlas and his frequent punishments. Compared to him, I was merciful and benevolent. 

At night we rested wherever was safe. Sometimes we lost members, soldiers on the edges of camp who went missing while everyone else was asleep. It would have been frustrating if they hadn’t been replaced by the lost souls wandering the Labyrinth. 

I sat away from the main army, distancing myself from them while I poured over maps. They were all useless. We might as well burn them for light, for all the good they were doing. I smelled him again, stronger than ever before, as though he stood right next to me. I looked up, expecting to see him. Nothing. My eyes scanned the shadows outside of the torchlight. Was that movement? I rose to my feet. 

Again, I could have sworn I saw a flicker of movement. I hesitated for only a moment, then I walked after it. For the first time, his scent didn’t go away. It stayed strong, filling my nose and taking hold in my lungs. I couldn’t let him get away. Suddenly, I burst into a run. My torch was back at the temporary camp and I didn’t have more than a lighter in my pocket, which I fumbled and dropped when I tried to open it. I didn’t stop to pick it up. That little bastard. When I caught him… 

Blindly, following only my nose, I ran through something fine. It was like spider silk, but cool and wet, and it didn’t cling to my skin. Still, I slowed and rubbed at my eyes. The smell vanished and I heard rustling. I froze. Slowly, I lowered my hands. 

I stood in a field of golden wheat as high as my waist, naked as the day I was born, toes curled in the warm earth. The sky was blue-grey and it smelled like it might rain but there were no clouds. What _was_ in the sky was a full moon as golden and brilliant as a polished drachma. The wind smelled sweet and earthy as it blew through the wheat bursting with seed. 

A garter snake slid across my foot, belly scales smooth against my skin, and disappeared into the field. Once I was aware of one, I could hear other scaley bodies slithering through the stalks of wheat, making them rustle. Snakes didn’t bother me in real life or in the dream. And I was sure that I was dreaming because I definitely had clothes on before. 

To my left was a cabin, made of thick red logs. From the stone chimney, I could see smoke rising; which meant that the hearth was lit. I knew, in the way that you knew things in dreams, that no one lived there and that it was for me if I should choose to go inside. 

However, there was movement to my right that seemed more interesting than a cabin. A head of black hair bobbing and the slosh of someone moving in the water. I walked towards the other person. 

The river was about ten feet wide and two feet deep at the center. Fish darted in the shallows, silvery things that I couldn’t begin to guess the species of. Wildflowers of all colors grew up and down the riverbanks, stems heavy with clusters of flowers. It smelled of roses and mountain laurel. 

He was short and slender, the definition of new muscles only just beginning to replace his baby fat. His hair was a little longer than I remembered and the breeze made it fluff out around his face. But he smelled how I remembered. Percy stood knee deep in the middle of the slow-moving river. Like me, he was naked, his Mediterranean complexion deepened by long summers outdoors. His eyes were the color of sea glass, so vibrant that they almost glowed, and when he noticed me, his pupils narrowed to pinpricks. He leaned back without actually stepping back. 

Neither of us had a weapon but for some reason I wasn’t concerned with all of that. It felt very far away, unimportant. What did feel important, was that as I looked at Percy, I saw that he was the only thing that looked real. Compared to Percy, everything else around us had the quality of a painting. An extremely detailed painting, yes, but still a painting. 

Percy straightened, his eyes flicking up and down my body. A shadow crossed his face as he took in the scars marring my torso. “This is weird,” he decided without taking his eyes off my scars. _That’s_ what he thought was weird about this? 

I laughed, surprising both of us. 

Percy laughed too, body language relaxed and open like I hadn’t seen since the day I’d lured him into the forest to kill him. He walked through the water towards me, stopped among the flowers only a foot away, and splayed his hand over my scarred abs. 

I held my breath. The light from the moon was warm but Percy’s hand was warmer, a pleasant brand on my skin. Another thing that added to the unreality of this place. I leaned down, cupped Percy’s face, and kissed him on the mouth. He tasted cool and salty like the ocean. 

Percy shyly kissed me back, inexperienced but eager, tongue darting across my lips. His hand snaked up to the back of my neck, held me in place as if I’d ever even consider breaking the kiss so soon. 

I parted my lips, met his tongue with mine, and coaxed his tongue into my mouth. It was a wet, hot kiss that made my nerves come alive. My hand slid down to the small of his back and I pulled him flush against me. 

Percy made a surprised noise that I could only describe as a _mewl_. His heart raced, pounded hard against our skin. He was so warm, skin so soft against mine. His fingers carded through my short hair. 

I hummed low in my throat, pleased with his reactions and the hand in my hair. I sucked the flavor from Percy’s tongue and slid my tongue into his mouth for more of his flavor, some part of me thinking that I wanted us to taste like each other. 

Percy pulled away, gasping for breath, and looked up at me. His pupils were dilated so much that his irises were thin rings of color. As he looked up at me, a strange look crossed his face. Percy stroked the back of my head, the short hairs at the nape of my neck. “This isn’t usually how it goes when I dream about you.” 

Everything inside of me went icy cold at his words. Percy thought he was dreaming? A dream thought that he was dreaming? No. This was really Percy. It didn’t make sense, though, this place couldn’t be real. I’d never seen the moon look like that and there were no stars in the sky. Maybe we were both dreaming; a strange, shared dream that we weren’t in control of. It didn’t feel malicious, which was a small blessing. “I don’t think this is a dream.” 

Percy looked around. “It feels like a dream,” he said slowly. “And if it wasn’t a dream, then you would have tried to kill me already. That’s what the real Luke would do.” He met my gaze with the surety of an arrogant child. I’d seen the look plenty of times on Annabeth’s face. 

This was Percy’s reality: we reunited and I tried to kill him. 

I couldn’t say that made me thrilled but it was better than what I would become to him. That thought was fleeting and distant, like a hawk riding the thermals. “I’d lose in a fight against you right now,” I pointed out. “You’re standing in the water.” 

Percy suddenly stepped away from me, hands pulled back to hover nervously in front of him. Percy’s eyes slowly moved down my body until he was looking at his feet; one in the water and the other on the riverbank. His eyes darted up to my face, caught and held my stare. He stepped back and back and back. Then he tripped on a rock and fell into the river. 

The look of bewilderment on Percy’s face made me laugh. I squatted down among the flowers. They tickled my skin. “What’d you do that for?” 

Percy lifted his foot out of the water. His heel was scraped red. “I couldn’t feel it.” He looked wildly around the river. “I can’t feel any of it!” 

My smile faded. I studied the water, the movement of the river. It was a close copy to the real thing but if I squinted, I could almost see what looked like brushstrokes. I dipped my fingers into the water. It was cool against my skin and it felt like normal water. I could definitely feel it. 

Percy saw me and rolled his eyes. “Not like that! One of my powers is...is basically echolocation. If I’m in the water, I can feel everything around me.” He stood up abruptly and carefully picked his way back to shore. He didn’t stop until he was out of mud and onto dry land. Percy hugged himself, looking around with wide eyes. “Weird dream,” he muttered. 

I twisted around to look at him. “Damn,” I said, impressed by the power and the fact that he no longer seemed to have it. I looked at the river, wondering if it was somehow poisoned. I made a cup with my hands and brought the water to my face, smelling it. It smelled like a normal river… Well, it smelled a lot cleaner than a normal river. But it moved differently than water was supposed to. I couldn’t explain it. Bad rendering, maybe. Could we drink this? I stood and walked past Percy to the cabin. 

“Where are you going?” Percy asked, anxiety in his voice. I was the only familiar thing here and he wouldn’t lose me so easily. 

I waited for him to catch up. “Just wanna see the cabin. There’s a fire lit.” I slid my hand into his. His hands were small and I felt tender calluses on his palms; in a few years his hands would be as tough as mine. 

The cabin had one room. There was a double bed across from the fireplace. A large cooking pot sat beside the fireplace. There was a cupboard with dishes and silverware and cups, all made of wood but good quality. There was also a single knife but it wouldn’t cut flesh no matter how hard I tried to dig the blade into my skin. Percy didn’t have success with that either. Various containers, for food storage, maybe. A pail to hold water. A clawfoot tub sat across from the bed, near to the fireplace. 

Percy looked around, a slow frown tugging his lips down. “There is no bathroom here.” 

That seemed like an oversight that whoever was in charge of this place wouldn’t have missed. I walked out the front door and around to the back of the cabin. There was an outhouse standing there. 

Percy joined me shortly. He was still frowning. He gave an annoyed huff. 

“It’s better than digging a hole,” I pointed out with a grin. An axe leaned against the outhouse. I picked it up and hefted it. The weight felt right in my hands. Axes weren’t really my strong point but I figured it would come in handy. The blade looked sharp but, like with the knife, it wouldn’t cut my skin when I tried to slice my palm open. Weird. Was that dream logic or was some god fucking hardcore with us? 

Percy shifted nervously. “Luke,” he said, “my foot hurts.” 

I took that as my cue and swung the axe over my shoulder. I put my free arm around Percy’s shoulder. We went back inside, I set the axe by the door, and I deposited Percy on the bed. Then I knelt in front of him and lifted his foot so I could see his heel. The skin was scraped and dirty from walking around barefoot but otherwise he looked okay. “You’ll be fine but we should probably clean this.” 

“Why didn’t I heal?” Percy asked. 

I shrugged. I stood up and picked up the pail. It looked clean enough. “Stay here. I’ll be back.” I walked to the river and filled the pail. While I was there, I looked around. There was forest on the other side of the river. I heard birds calling and insects humming. Our footsteps were the only signs of humanity. No airplanes overhead, no satellites in the sky, no rush of cars on the roads, no human pollution. The air tasted sweet and clean. “A dream?” I asked anyone who would answer me. 

There was no response. The rules of a place were important to know and every place had different rules. If there was one thing I learned from my time with Kronos, it was that the Olympians weren’t the only gods and their domains weren’t the only ones around. You didn’t even really need to be a god to have carved out a private space in the world. The Irish fairies had the Summerlands and the knowes. Other gods and creatures had other places. 

I left the river and returned to Percy. Percy lay on the bed, legs dangling over the edge, one arm stretched out and one resting on his stomach. His eyes flickered to me and some of the anxiety in his face went away. 

I sat cross-legged on the floor and took Percy’s injured foot in my hand. It wasn’t until that very moment that I realized the only fabric was the sheets and blanket on the bed. We were naked. There was no fabric anywhere to wash the wound with. “Don’t kick me,” I warned him. I wet my hand and rubbed it against Percy’s heel. 

Percy winced but he took it well. It was a small scrape, a skin abrasion and nothing deep or serious. The dirt along with a tiny bit of blood were rubbed away by my hand and cool water. Soon, his heel was pink and shiny, almost like new. 

I held onto his foot longer than was necessary, pressing my thumbs into his arches and feeling the delicate bones of his ankle. He had nice feet, neatly trimmed nails and cute toes. I ran my hand up his calf, squeezed lightly, and mirrored the action with his shin. 

Percy propped himself up on his elbows to look down at me. The anxiety had smoothed out of his features, making him look younger than he was. It was replaced with wanting. 

There was never more than a few inches of space between us as I stood up to kiss him again. I hovered over him, so close to touching that I could feel the heat of his body. His mouth was soft against mine. It was so easy to kiss Percy. 

Percy laid his head back against the mattress, kissing me all the while. He got better the more he did it. His tongue slid into my mouth, ran up the thick scar tissue on my cheek and rubbed against my own tongue. His arms came up around my neck, holding me over him even when he broke the kiss. Percy’s breathing was uneven. His gaze flicked down between our bodies and his face took on a red tint. 

I was half hard, cock filling out heavy between my legs. Just a side effect of kissing; there wasn’t anything urgent about it. I ducked my head and licked Percy’s lips to coax his mouth open again. 

Percy parted his lips for me, met my tongue with his. He tasted like very, very diluted saltwater. Which was good because if he tasted like the actual ocean, I don’t think I could have kissed him as filthily as I was now. When he pulled back again, his lips were slick and kiss swollen. Percy looked between us again. He seemed dazed when he said, “I knew there was no way you got away with just a little tiny scratch after facing Ladon.” Percy splayed his hand on my chest, over the scars that ran from my left shoulder to my right hip. 

My stomach fluttered under his touch. I held my breath until I was lightheaded, waiting and watching his face as Percy followed the length of the scar. It was only when my lungs ached that I let out my breath and drew another one. “Did you?” I asked to break the silence. 

Percy glanced at my face and then away. “Well, not until I actually saw Ladon,” he admitted. His hand rested on my hip, cool against my hot skin. 

Maybe I needed to go for a swim and cool off. I looked down at Percy - the only clear thing in this world - and mirrored him, resting my hand on his hip. He felt real. Gods, did he feel real. The slide of his skin over bone, the rise and fall of his chest, the peach fuzz on his legs. I rubbed my thumb along the dip of his pelvis, over the soft skin beside his jutting hip bone. 

Percy sighed, half closing his eyes. He was getting hard. “I think I want it to rain,” he muttered. “It smelled like rain outside, didn’t it, Luke?” 

The crack of thunder made us both jump. In the next instant, rain poured down. It masked the crackle of the hearth fire and came in through the open door. 

I slid off Percy to close the door. My heart raced. He asked for rain, and it rained. It still didn’t look real, too soft at the edges. This place didn’t even look real. The moon was too close, too big. There were no stars in the sky. There were no fucking clouds; it was a clear sky with rain pouring down. I walked outside and stood beneath the rain. It ran down my skin, chilled and wet, and dampened my hair. I licked rainwater off my arm. It _tasted_ like normal water. 

When I went back inside, Percy was laying on the bed properly, curled beneath the blanket. He peered at me through his lashes. “Where’d you go?” 

I shook my head like a dog, flinging droplets of water all over, and sat in front of the fire. “Just to check out the rain. There aren’t any clouds in the sky.” 

Percy hummed. “Dream logic.” 

As I watched the water evaporate from my skin, I couldn’t help but think he might be right. Maybe this was just a weird, weird dream. I was warm and dry in a few minutes, but I stayed on the floor by the fire. The bed felt like a siren song of temptation. 

“Are you going to stay there all night?” Percy asked. 

“Maybe.” I watched the flames flicker until my vision blurred. I blinked to clear it. Was it nighttime? The rain made it seem a little darker but the moon was still out in full force. I looked out the window and saw that it was pitch black out. Rain still drummed on the rooftop. Goosebumps broke out over my skin. 

The bed creaked and then I heard Percy’s footsteps on the hardwood floor. He squatted down beside me, the blanket wrapped around his shoulders. Percy leaned his cheek against my shoulder. “Come to bed with me, Luke.” 

I looked at him. In the firelight, his eyes looked even greener than normal and catlike. “Are you sure?” I asked. 

Percy nodded. He stayed where he was until I stood up and offered a hand to him, which he accepted with a shy smile. Percy didn’t let go of my hand until the backs of his knees hit the mattress. Then he let go and climbed onto the mattress, flopping onto his side near the wall. He gave me an expectant look. 

I eased onto the mattress beside him. It was comfortable and cozy. I tugged at the blanket until Percy relinquished his hold on it and shared. The blanket wasn’t small; it was a queen-size blanket on a double-size mattress. Then we lay in bed facing each other, the blanket pulled over both of us. I wasn’t tired but the rain was cool and there wasn’t anything else to do in the cabin. And Percy had asked. 

Percy was the one who reached out first, fingers skimming the empty space between us until they brushed my cock. He curled his fingers around my cock. His hand was warm and soft. 

My breath caught. I wasn’t unwilling...he’d only surprised me. In hindsight, I shouldn’t have been surprised. I’d kissed him first, hot and wet, without warning. It felt good when he touched me; more than that, it felt _right_. Under his inexperienced touch, I grew harder than before. 

And Percy was obviously inexperienced. He wasn’t touching me like he knew what he was doing. Percy’s touch was exploratory, getting a feel for the weight and texture of my cock. His breath caught as I got harder in his hand. “Oh,” he whispered, sounding surprised even though he was old enough that he must have been exploring his own body. 

When I couldn’t hold my breath any longer, I let it out in a shaky exhale. My eyes slid closed. Percy’s hand was warm and soft but it was also dry. If he got serious about touching me, we would have to do something about that. 

Percy brought his hand up to the head of my cock. He curled his fingers around it and gently twisted his wrist, rubbing the top against his palm. Then he moved his fingers so that one slid along the slit. 

Pleasure sparked in me and with every touch the flames were fanned higher. I moaned, soft and low in the back of my throat, and shifted to be closer to him. 

Percy took that as permission to wiggle even closer. He slotted my leg between his, and I felt his thighs shaking. He pressed his lips to mine so eagerly that his teeth scraped against my lip. “Sorry,” he whispered, pulling his head back. 

I chased his lips, caught them in a kiss. Carefully, deliberately, I bit down on his bottom lip and sucked it between my teeth. Only after I’d drawn a wanting little noise from him, did I release his lip and kiss it better. Firmly, I placed one hand on Percy’s hip, slid it up to the bend of his waist, then over his ribs. With a thumb, I rubbed circles on his nipple until it pebbled. 

Percy sighed under my caresses until I got to his nipple. Then he moaned, again a soft sound that I barely heard. Was he naturally quiet or did he force himself to muffle the noises? His hand had stilled on my cock, a loose hold like he forgot what he was doing in the wake of his own pleasure. 

I scooted closer, firmly sliding my thigh between his, high up until I could feel his balls against my skin. At the same time, I moved my hand around to his back, over his shoulder blades and along the ridges of his spine. My hand dipped at the small of his back, then I was squeezing his ass. He had such a cute little butt; not that I would ever admit that to him. 

Percy let go of my cock to lightly scratch my chest with both hands. He arched, pressing his ass into my hands, and moaning. That was a little louder. 

I ducked my head to kiss his throat, felt the vibrations of his moan against my lips. With a sudden clarity, I knew where this was going to go, what we’d been heading towards since the first time I kissed him. How long ago was that again? Unimportant. What was important was that Percy was trembling in my arms and I could feel the stiffness of his erection pressed against my hip. As I kneaded his ass, I thought about how good it would be if he were wet and ready to take me… I ran my fingers between the cleft of his ass cheeks, only marginally surprised to find his hole wet. 

Rubbing the pad of my finger against his hole made Percy shiver and rock against me. He moaned, then whined as he was unable to decide if he wanted to press back against my finger or rut against my hip. “Luke,” he breathed. 

I pushed a finger into his body. He was so soft inside. Everything about Percy was soft, I was beginning to realize. He felt as though he were made to be touched by me. I eased my finger in past the first and second knuckles. Like I had wanted, Percy was wet and ready to take me. My mouth hovered over his, lips barely brushing against his. 

Percy panted, hot little breaths against my lips. His eyes were closed and his face screwed up in pleasure. He sank his nails into my chest. It should have hurt because my scars always hurt but for some reason it didn’t. 

I wanted to take it slow but Percy was so perfect that I couldn’t bear to take too long. My cock ached to be inside of him. I added a second finger, easing it into him slowly. This time, I did kiss him, hoping to distract him from any pain. 

Percy responded by spreading his legs wider. He pushed back against my fingers and shivered. If he was in pain, I couldn’t tell. A third finger made him moan aloud. 

He was as ready as he’d ever be. I eased my fingers out of him - ignored his disappointed whine - and rolled onto my back, bringing Percy with me. 

He sat astride my hips, watching with wide, curious eyes. He planted both hands on my chest. His cock literally dripped enough precum that it pooled on my stomach. 

I eased Percy into position and then guided my cock into him. Yes, he was still tight enough that for a second I worried. But then the head slid past his ring of muscle and I was inside of him. 

A small noise of surprise passed his lips. Percy flexed as though trying to draw me in. His complexion was just light enough that I could see how it reddened with a blush. 

_Greedy_ , I thought fondly. I rocked into him, taking it slow, until his ass was flush against my pelvis. His body was hot and tight around me, constantly flexing as he adjusted and pulsing in time to his heartbeat. “Feel good?” I asked. 

Percy nodded. He shivered. His eyes were half closed and he was drooling. “So good,” he mumbled, almost in a trance. 

I put my hands on his hips. “Just wait. It’ll feel even better once I start moving.” Again, I began rocking my hips. They were small thrusts just to get him used to it...and to stop myself from cumming too quickly. I’d had boys before but none of them were Percy. 

Percy tried to match my rhythm. The fact that he didn’t know what he was doing, really cemented for me that this wasn’t a dream. If it was a dream he’d be a perfect slut with all the knowledge of someone who had sex regularly. But that was a fleeting thought because Percy tried so hard to do good and follow my instructions. “Luke, harder,” Percy begged. His face hadn’t lost that rosy tint. His cock bounced between us, flushed redder than his face and leaking precum onto my belly. 

This wasn’t the best position for harder. Even though I didn’t want to, I tried to pull out of him. If Percy wanted hard then we’d have to switch positions and far be it from me to deny him. I put my hands on his hips to still him. 

Percy whined when he realized what I was going to do. “No, no! Don’t! I want you inside me.” The note in his voice was slightly, _almost_ hysteric. He tightened around me, clenching down as though he could keep me inside of him. 

I sat up to give him a sweet, reassuring kiss. “Just for a second,” I said. 

“No,” Percy insisted. He kissed me hard, tongue and teeth in the mix. 

“I thought you wanted it harder?” I asked, raising an eyebrow. Right now I wasn’t moving at all. If he didn’t want to, then we could go back to what we were doing. 

Now Percy hesitated. He squirmed as he ground down on my cock. His breath came out in little panting gasps. “What if we roll over again?” Percy looked so hopeful. 

The truth was, I didn’t want to pull out yet either. It felt good being inside of him. I kissed Percy one last time then lay back down. “Alright, gimme your leg and do not kick me in the face.” 

“Why do you think I’m going to kick you in the face every time my foot comes near your head?” Percy asked in a huff as he did what I asked. We managed to get his leg from one side of my body to the other and I didn’t get kicked in the face or slide out during the process. Percy sat sideways on me, looking desperately turned on but also concerned. “Sex isn’t like I imagined it would be.” 

I didn’t know what to say to that so I kept quiet. Instead, I put my hands on his thigh and back and urged Percy to finish his turn so that he was reverse-cowboying it. 

“Does it always require…” Percy looked at me over his shoulder and waved a hand vaguely. 

Now that he was facing away from me, I carefully shifted our positions again. “Lean forward, on your arms,” I instructed. 

Percy did and in a moment, I was kneeling between his spread thighs. He looked at me over his shoulder again, eyes dark. “Luke, don’t make me wait anymore,” he said. “I’m...I _ache._ ” 

I slid in and out of him a few times, getting a feel for the position. “Put your hands on the footboard.” I smiled. “And brace yourself, Percy.” I snapped my hips. 

Percy gasped. 

I did it again and again, keeping my thrusts short and hard. 

Percy’s moans let me know that I was hitting the right spot. Every moan sounded like it was forced from his lungs. 

Of course I knew that there was something else happening here. The closer I got to blissful orgasm, the more I realized that there was something happening with _me_. There was a swelling at the base of my cock and as it grew, it became hard to keep thrusting in and out. Then, with one final thrust, I couldn’t pull out again. We were tied together and at that moment I didn’t care because I was cumming. 

It was the best orgasm I’ve ever had. Even after the initial wave, I was rocked with aftershocks as Percy’s warm body clenched and throbbed around me. And I was still cumming inside of him, cock twitching and pulsing as I filled him with my cum. 

Percy rocked back, looking for the friction he needed to get off. 

I pulled Percy back against me and carefully eased us onto our sides. Our heads were on the wrong side of the bed but it didn’t seem to matter to either of us. I just wanted him near to me. 

Percy lay panting and moaning, pressed against the curve of my body. He trembled as he pushed his ass back, grinding on my cock. “Feels so good.” He twisted his torso around, head tipped back. “Will you kiss me again?” 

I kissed him again. I slid one hand along his body, down to his little cock, and stroked it. His skin was soft like silk and so warm. 

Percy came with a small cry against my lips. His body tightened around me like a vice, then throbbed in time to his heartbeat. He kissed me softly before relaxing on the mattress. 

I wiped my hand clean on the sheet. Then I wrapped my arms around Percy, holding him close. I nuzzled the back of his head, nosing the fine hairs at his nape. 

Percy sighed contentedly. 

I wasn’t sure if I slept or not. I didn’t dream and I was constantly aware of Percy beside me, warmth against my side. But I was so relaxed and felt well rested by the time the swelling in my cock went down. I pulled out slowly. 

Percy whimpered in protest. He turned around and nuzzled his face into my neck. “I never want to wake up,” he confessed. 

We laid in bed and made love a few more times before I got tired of the rain and being in bed. There had to be more to this place than the sudden desire to have sex with Percy. Almost as soon as I thought that the rain should stop, it did. There was a brief moment of silence, then a chorus of frogs started and the birds tentatively began their songs again. 

“Let’s go for a walk,” I suggested as I kissed the skin beneath Percy’s ear. 

Percy gave a delighted shiver. He squirmed away from me as though sensing that we wouldn’t leave the bed if one of us didn’t stop. “Okay.” Percy got out of bed and stood. He took two steps and froze, head bowed. 

It only took a moment to see what the problem was. My cum dripped out of him, some falling directly to the floor and some oozing down his thighs. I didn’t like that it was being wasted. It should be inside of him. Now that he was vertical and my cock wasn’t keeping it in, my cum was coming out. I looked around, saw something - a plug? - made of smooth wood that was the right shape and grabbed it. I got to my feet and came up behind him, pressed the head of the plug against his stretched hole. 

Percy whined and shivered. He widened his stance, pushed back almost eagerly. It was a good thing I could keep up with his sex drive. 

I couldn’t resist teasing him just a little, bouncing the plug against his hole, not quite entering him. My cock began to fill again, and I considered taking him again right now. Four times in a row was a bit excessive. Cum wet my fingers as I teased him and that was what made me decide to stop wasting it and ease the plug fully into Percy. 

Percy trembled with desire. He panted and moaned as I teased and stretched his rim. When the plug finally entered him, Percy’s moan held a relieved note. He turned to face me, pupils blown wide with lust and cock hard. His arms came around my neck, lithe body stretched against mine. “It doesn’t feel like you,” Percy said. 

I held him, wet hands squeezing his ass and prodding at the base of the plug. The plug was doing its job yet I couldn’t help but think it was in the way of my cock. I should be the one filling him, be the one he rocked back against. My cock was fully erect, smearing precum against his soft belly. “We’re going for a walk, aren’t we?” I asked, tone teasing but absolutely willing to stay here for another round if Percy wanted to. 

Percy hesitated. He seemed to deflate a little. “Yeah. We can go for a walk.” Percy turned away, toward the door. 

Oh no. I couldn’t leave him disappointed. I grabbed his arm and drew him back to me, back to my chest. My hand slid down his belly to his cock and I stroked him. 

“Oh! Luke!” Percy melted against me immediately. He put his arms around my neck again, gripped the short hairs at the nape of my neck. 

As I stroked him, I slotted my cock between his ass cheeks and rubbed against him. It was nothing like being inside of him but I still liked his skin against mine. “You don’t have to wait if you want me,” I said, lips against the skin of his neck. 

Percy rolled his hips, thrusting into my hand as I jacked him off. He turned his face to kiss my cheek. “I always want you, Luke.” 

I moaned and pressed more firmly against him. Percy was perfect. Maybe I’d been blind before but I saw it now. And now that I saw him, saw him and had him, I was never going to let him go. No one would come between us; mortal nor god. 

Percy moaned. His arms began to shake around my neck, a tremble that slowly worked its way down to his legs. “It...it’s not the same as having you in me,” he whined. 

I sucked hickies into his neck as I got us both off. Rubbing against him was doing more for me than I thought it would. That swelling at the base of my cock was coming back. “I can fix that,” I promised. I gently removed the plug. 

Percy gasped as the widest part stretched him. He trembled harder. 

I had to widen my stance to line us up. When I pushed into him, Percy’s body was hot and wet around me. I got in as far as the swelling before pausing. Was it still small enough to fit? I didn’t want to hurt him. I rocked my hips, a few short thrusts, and then the knot popped past his ring of muscle and into that tight heat. 

Percy came all over my hand. He went boneless then, legs almost giving out. 

I caught him before he hurt us both. I back toward the bed and sat down with him still impaled on my cock. In one hand I still held the plug. My free hand went to his mouth and I realized he was drooling again. 

Percy opened his mouth when my fingertips touched his lips. He sucked on two of my fingers, little tongue rubbing against them. His mouth was so wet and the suction felt so good. 

I came inside of Percy. It was another long, long orgasm during which I filled him with my cum yet again. While I trembled through my orgasm, I kissed and licked Percy’s neck and shoulders. 

We sat for a long time, enjoying each other’s presence and waiting for my knot to go down. When it did and I began to grow soft, I pulled out of Percy. Only to immediately replace my cock with the plug, holding my cum inside of him. This time we didn’t spill a drop. “Still up for a walk?” I asked gently. 

“Yeah,” Percy agreed. He sounded tired but determined. “I want to stretch my legs and explore.” He slid off my lap and turned to kiss me. A brief peck and then Percy went to the door and opened it. 

Golden moonlight poured into the cabin. The rain was long gone, only leaving behind a faint damp earth scent. I got to my feet and followed Percy out the door. 

We walked through the wheat fields. Garter snakes slid over our feet if we stayed still too long but they were harmless and neither of us were concerned with them. The wheat field ended at a line of birch trees. I was sure that the eyes of the trees watched us as we passed between their trunks. There didn’t seem to be an end to the birch forest. It kept going and going, no sign of it ending no matter what direction we looked. Doves perched in pairs in the branches of the trees, too absorbed in grooming to pay any attention to us. 

After a while, Percy slid his hand into mine. “I think it goes on forever,” he announced. And because he said so, the birch forest did stretch out forever. 

The fine hairs at the back of my neck rose in warning. Percy thought that we were dreaming but I was more sure than ever that this wasn’t a dream - at least not entirely - and that we needed to be careful with what we wanted and said. Otherwise, we’d get exactly that. “We’ll go back to the wheat field,” I said aloud. We turned around and began the walk back. It was a shorter walk going back. Within minutes, the golden field was in sight again. 

“What do we do?” Percy asked. 

“I don’t know,” I admitted. 

“There should be an instruction manual,” Percy decided. He promptly tripped, hand yanked out of mine. Percy cried out in surprise. 

I saw the large book, the same red as the earth, but my concern was for Percy. I knelt beside him, looked him over for any injuries. There were none, only a bit of dirt clinging to his skin. “Are you alright?” I asked, worried that something inside of him hurt. 

Percy nodded. His face was tinged red with a blush again. “What’s that?” He pointed to the book that he’d tripped over. 

I glanced at the book. The cover was made of reddish brown leather that looked like clay. It had no title and no author. “I think it’s your instruction manual.” 

Sitting cross-legged in the dirt, Percy picked up the book. It had to be about twenty-two by eleven inches big. He ran his hand over the cover, feeling the texture of the leather. Then he opened it. The pages were all blank. Percy looked to me, confused, as though I had the answers. 

“Just wait,” I said on a hunch. 

We both stared down at the blank page. Ink began to move out from the center crease of the book, spreading across both pages in full watercolor illustrations. It showed the little river with flowers lining the banks. Then two figures walked from the crease and into the water. They bathed and played in the river. The two figures looked like little watercolor versions of me and Percy. Then the image went still. 

Percy and I looked at each other. “I guess we go to the river now. I sure could use a bath.” 

I nodded and stood. I helped Percy to his feet and we crossed the wheat field to the river. 

Percy carried the book and set it on the bank far out of reach of the water. Then he went into the water. He walked to the middle of the little river and sat down, then began to wash the dirt off himself. 

After watching him for a moment, I joined him in the water. It was good to wash the sweat from my skin. Sex was a sweaty affair even in dreams. Not that I thought we were dreaming. The book appearing like magic and telling us what to do like a fairytale was disconcerting. At the same time, it was a relief to have instructions, guidance. Otherwise, I wasn’t sure that we would do anything except make love and walk around.  
  
  


Over the next few days, the book showed me how to set traps and hunt and prepare my catches to eat. It taught me what plants to search for and which parts were edible. The ax and the knife both worked exceptionally well on flesh that wasn’t ours, and I realized it was because whoever put us here didn’t want us committing suicide. 

Percy didn’t like watching me kill and butcher the animals, but he did join me on foraging trips and he was happy enough to cook the meat I brought back. The only exception to this was when I went fishing. Then, Percy sat on the bank among the wildflowers and watched me. Sometimes he tried his hand at fishing but he was surprisingly bad at it. One day he said to me, “I like it here. The fish don’t talk.” 

“Do the fish normally talk?” I asked as I tickled a fish from the water. I used the knife to slit the fish’s throat and tossed it onto shore with the others. 

Fish murder did not bother Percy. He watched with some interest and none of the squeamishness he showed with mammals. Then again, mammals bled more than fish. “Yes. Sort of. I hear their voices in my head. Do you think I’m crazy?” 

“If you are, you get it from your dad,” I said with a shrug. Mentally, I tucked that nugget of information away. Percy can talk to fish and the fish here don’t talk back. 

We ate well. My trap always caught something and there was always more growing to replace what I gathered. The stream never ran empty. 

The book did more than just teach me how to butcher the animals. I learned how to cure skins and hides to make leather and furs. These were mostly used for towels and bedding. Clothes were very hard to make because I didn’t have a needle - or thread - and couldn’t figure out how to make one that wouldn’t break. So we wore a lot of capes. 

It turned out that capes were actually very convenient and useful because we had sex a lot. All the time. We would be doing something else and then all it would take is a glance and suddenly we were having sex. The capes made it so that we didn’t have to move clothes out of the way and they made good blankets so that when we were outside, we weren’t fucking on the dirt. Usually. Sometimes the urge was too strong and we wound up doing it in the dirt anyway.  
  
  


“I miss my mom,” Percy said one day after we finished a round of sex on the bank of the stream. He was still impaled on my cock, knot locking us together. Wildflowers brushed against his skin, bright spots of color against the brown of his skin. 

“Oh yeah?” I held him close, breathed him in. His scent was subtly different, in a way that I couldn’t quite pinpoint. Percy still smelled like the ocean and salt but there was something else...something warmer, somehow. Whatever it was, I really liked it. 

Percy nuzzled me. He ran his fingers through my hair. This was a favorite activity. “Yeah. I love her so much. She’s why I went to the underworld. I didn’t care about my dad and the gods. I just wanted her back.” 

“I’m sorry,” I said as I ran my fingers down his chest, over the bump of his abdomen. We were eating well and he hadn’t yet lost all of his baby fat, but he seemed to be gaining weight. It didn’t feel like fat; it felt firm beneath my palm. Touching the spot made me more excited than anything else. 

Percy kissed me. He practically purred beneath my touch. “That’s how I know this is a dream.” 

I swallowed and for a moment my misgivings about this place came back. “How?” 

“Because the real Luke would never apologize for anything.” Percy did this regularly, tore my heart out without meaning to or trying. He never seemed to notice how deeply his words cut me. It was like he forgot the words as soon as they left his mouth. Percy twisted so that he could meet my eye and he said, “I don’t want to wake up.” 

“I don’t either.” My misgivings left as quickly as they appeared. The hurt Percy’s words caused cooled and faded into nothing. The knot was deflating but I was getting ready to go again. Sometimes it was like this, sometimes I didn’t even get a chance to pull out of him before the urge to make love to Percy came back. I rolled my hips. 

Percy moaned, a sweet little noise that said he was as ready for more as I was. His rim stretched around my knot, always tight no matter how often I had him. He pawed at me, trying to get me to roll on top of him. 

I did, careful not to crush him beneath my weight. There had been a time earlier when I hadn’t minded pushing Percy flat against the ground but now I was careful with him. Something inside of me warned me to be careful with him. So I doubled over his back, giving short thrusts of my hips like a dog mounting him. 

Percy rocked back in time with every thrust. He let out little moans and whines of pleasure. His skin was hot against mine, sweat gathering between us. Percy whispered my name like a prayer and I whispered his name with the same reverence.  
  
  


There was no unhappiness here, no stress, no worry. But sometimes we came close to it, brushed against it like the wheat that brushed against our skin. Percy would grip me tight and give me a look that was all desperation and say, “I don’t want to wake up. I don’t want to go back.” Then he would cover his eyes with the heels of his palms. “I couldn’t stand losing this version of you. I would die,” he moaned. “I would die, I would die.” 

What could I do except take him in my arms? “I’m the same now as I’ve always been,” I tried to tell him. There was only one me. This me. 

Percy would shake his head and worry the knot of scar tissue on his right palm. “No, no, Luke. Don’t tell me that.” He put his hands over his ears like a child. 

The only way to get him back to good was with nuzzles and kisses and rubbing my whole body against him like a cat. Percy liked that and after enough physical attention, Percy would go right back to smiling and happy and content to let himself pretend that this wouldn’t end. 

It needled at me longer but I was caught. The more I showered Percy with affection and praise, the more I made him laugh and put him at ease around me, the more convinced that Percy became that I was something from his imagination. That I was a good dream - a really good dream version of the Luke he knew outside of this place - and that I did not exist in the Luke he remembered. Sometimes I wondered if he was right. What if I wasn’t real?  
  
  


I lay in bed beside Percy, sucking his nipple and rolling it between my teeth. His nipples tasted sweet lately and they were puffy. That sweetness was addicting. I suckled like a baby, first from one nipple and then from the other. 

It made Percy pant and arch into my mouth. He had his hands in my hair, holding my head to his chest and running his hands through my hair. When I suckled like this, Percy hated for me to stop. Sometimes he came from nothing but my mouth on his nipples. His belly swelled and now it lay between us, firm and round. 

The first day I realized that Percy wasn’t just gaining weight because he was eating well, I felt stupid for not realizing sooner. It was so obvious what was happening; Percy was pregnant. The other obvious thing was that it was my baby inside of him. There was no one else. And we were trapped somewhere that was literally overflowing with fertility symbols. I should have known what we were doing. But it didn’t really matter how or why. 

Knowing that Percy was going to have my baby just made me happy. I started a family. _We_ started a family. There would be a little one, a perfect legacy, toddling around. I would do anything for Percy and for our unborn baby. Anything at all. I would abandon the gods and Kronos, if Percy asked. That should have scared me but it didn’t. 

But what Percy wanted right now was for me to suckle his aching, leaking nipples. So I sucked, licking and occasionally nibbling, until Percy’s nipples were swollen and red and shiny with my spit. Then I kept going, the sweet taste of milk on my tongue and filling my belly. It was good. 

Percy arched and sighed. His body went rigid right before he came on my thigh. Then my mouth was too much and Percy lightly pulled my hair to pull my head away. He rolled onto his back and spread his legs in invitation. 

I rolled over top of him, not putting any weight on him at all. Percy’s lips were slack when I kissed him so I trailed kisses from his jaw to his temple. Then I eased my aching cock into him. Soft, wet heat surrounded me. It was like sinking into bliss. 

“Easy, Luke. Gentle,” Percy murmured, half asleep and drifting in post-orgasm bliss. “Our baby’s in there.” 

His words of caution were unnecessary; I was always careful with him. I think he just liked mentioning that we were going to have a baby. I leaned down and rubbed my nose against his nose. Then I straightened and began thrusting, chasing my pleasure with restraint. It took a little longer but I got there, knot swelling and then locking us in place as I came. 

I pulled Percy into a sitting position so that he straddled me and leaned against the wall. My hands went to his belly, feeling the life moving inside of him. “Do you think it was the first time?” I asked. 

Percy watched me touch his belly. His hands rested on my shoulders, thumbs dipping to stroke my collarbones. “I think so.” 

We had no proof. Time meant nothing here. I couldn’t say if we’ve been here for days or years. A brief trickle of unease nagged at me...and then faded away. What did it matter? This was the best time of my life. It felt like it would never end.  
  
  


Percy’s belly grew and grew and he got out of bed less and less. He was tired but always happy, smiling and talking about our baby. What would they look like? What would they be like? We didn’t have sex as often, but that was alright. I was just happy to be with him. 

Then one day, I opened the book and waited to see what it wanted me to do. The watercolor spread across the page. For the first time since coming here, I felt true fear. It showed me a version of myself holding a knife and cutting into Percy...cutting the baby out of him. 

I could do it. I knew I could because I’ve gotten very good at skinning and butchering animals. But this was not an animal; this was my lover and our unborn child. A mistake could end all of this before it even began. It could spell disaster and pain. 

Percy lay in the bath, water warmed by the fireplace, and watched me. Finally, he sighed. “Show me, Luke.” 

I wanted to hide it from him, as though that could stop what I had to do. But that baby had to come out somehow and he wouldn’t love me anymore if I came at him with a knife and no warning. I showed Percy the book. 

There was not a flicker of surprise on his face. Percy just sighed again and nodded. “Okay.” 

“But -” 

“It’s time. I can feel it. Our baby has to come out somehow,” Percy said, echoing my thoughts. He sat up a little straighter, held a wet hand to me. “Help me up, Luke.” 

My hands shook as I helped Percy up. They’ve never shook like this before, like I was freezing cold or a junkie in need of a fix. If I could will Percy to be wet and ready to take me every time we wanted to have sex, then I could will my hands to stop shaking. By the time I got Percy to our bed, my hands were steady again. “I love you,” I told him. 

Percy beamed up at me. He kissed me. Then he laid back on the furs. “I love you too. You’re going to do fine.” 

When I picked up the butcher knife, it looked the same as always. But there was something different about it. The difference was, of course, that it could cut flesh this time. A test of the blade showed that it still wouldn’t cut me. I knew in my bones that it would cut Percy with no problem. 

Percy watched me, not a hint of concern in his expression. “I trust you, Luke.” His trust meant more to me than the I love you. 

I consulted the book one more time to make sure that I wouldn’t do more harm than good. It was time. My hands were steady. The knife parted Percy’s flesh like it did the animals I butchered. 

If Percy had cried out, I probably couldn’t have gone through with it. But he was silent, eyes on my face the whole time. It wasn’t something that he wanted to see, even in a dream. 

The book's instructions had never misguided me before and they didn’t start now. Our baby was exactly where the book said it would be. I set the knife aside and lifted our wet, squirming child. 

Our child wailed, lungs healthy and working. I did a quick assessment, counted all the fingers and toes and made sure that everything looked okay. They were perfect. 

We had a blanket of soft rabbit skin made especially for the purpose of wrapping our newborn but I didn’t reach for it. Instead, I handed our baby to Percy. 

Percy held our wet and messy newborn close to his body. He didn’t need to guide it to a nipple to nurse; seemed that the instinct to feed was something babies were born with. His sea glass green eyes were wide with awe as he gently stroked our baby’s damp black hair. “The umbilical cord, Luke,” Percy said distractedly. 

I tied off the umbilical cord and cut it. Then I referred to the book on what to do next. The book’s instructions were a little suspect but only because I was fairly certain this wasn’t how it worked. Everything, including the part of the umbilical cord, was supposed to back into Percy. It showed his body reabsorbing it. Well, who was I to argue with a magical book? I did what it said. There was the matter of healing Percy and after a moment of consideration, I tried to will him healed. Percy’s flesh knit back together as though it never knew the slice of a knife. 

I washed my hands in the bathwater, and the knife. Then I joined them on the bed, stretching out beside Percy. In the time it took me to do that, our baby was clean. I assumed that this was Percy’s doing. “Are you okay?” I asked. I ran my foot over a tiny, perfect little foot. 

Our baby squirmed, ticklish. 

Percy nodded. He rested his head against my shoulder. “It didn’t hurt and now our baby is here.” 

“Now they’re here,” I agreed. Relief made me press a kiss into Percy’s hair. Then I reached for the soft rabbit skin and draped it over our child to keep them warm.  
  
  


Life continued much the same as it had before except now we had a baby to take care of. 

We named them River. It was difficult to tell if River was growing very quickly or if we spent years here. My brain told me it had to be years because River went from a crying, helpless baby to a giggling, mobile toddler. But I wasn’t sure. Maybe I would never be sure. Maybe we would live here forever in familial bliss. 

We took River with us everywhere, first carrying them and then holding their hand as they toddled alongside us. River was a curious child, with pale green eyes that looked like my mother’s, a gaze that followed our every move and absorbed everything. They weren’t squeamish like Percy was so I brought them along while I hunted and butchered the animals. Then River would help me carry back our catch and stay by Percy’s side to help him cook it in the pot over the fireplace. 

Percy taught River to swim and they took to the water like a true legacy of Poseidon. The two swam and splashed and had contests to see who could hold their breath the longest. One night, after the first contest like this, as we were laying in bed, Percy whispered, “I used to be able to breathe underwater.” He couldn’t anymore, not here, because none of our powers worked. 

  
  
  


As River got older, they went from toddling to running. They were coltish, running tirelessly. Games were their favorite; hide n seek, tag, Marco-Polo, foot races. Small competitions to see who was faster or stronger or could climb the highest or eat the fastest. Their black hair grew and grew. I twisted it into braids down their back and wove flowers into it. 

They got too old to sleep in our bed. There wasn’t room for a second bed in the cabin. Our solution was a hammock, willed into existence. We hung it up and River said it made them feel like flying or rocking or maybe swimming. Percy and I got our bed back. 

“Now that we’ve got our bed back,” Percy murmured against my throat. He reached across like he had our first day and wrapped his hand around my cock. 

Our love making was as good as it was before River was born. My knot still formed before I came, locking my cum inside of Percy. Somehow, I didn’t think that we would have another child. River would be our only one. But I was okay with that. I had my little family and I didn’t want or need anything else.  
  
  


River caught the garter snakes and brought them into the cabin. We rarely ate the snakes because there wasn’t much meat on them and the skins weren’t worth much, but they were catching the snakes just for the fun of it. “Look, Pop!” River said to me, holding up a handful of the snakes. 

They called me Pop. I think it was short for papa but River never added that last vowel. “Good job. What are you going to do with them?” I asked. 

River looked at the snakes and frowned. What were they going to do with them? Eventually, River shrugged. “Show Da,” River said and went to show Percy. 

Percy oohed and ahhed over River’s catch and for the rest of the day, our child strutted around like a peacock. While River released the snakes back into the wheat field, Percy came to me. “They’re getting so big.” 

I nodded. “They’re almost a teenager,” I said though this was more of a guess than a fact. 

Percy hummed. “Not quite a teenager,” he decided. “But they’re getting close.” Percy fixed his sea glass green eyes on me. His expression was serious, like it used to be sometimes before River was born. “If I wake up and things are back to how they were before, I’ll kill myself.” 

It had been a long time since Percy last brought up whether or not we were dreaming and when this would all end. I did my best not to think of it, but more and more I thought of the world we’d left behind. This world...it felt different lately. Tight, almost, like it was under some sort of pressure. It made me feel uneasy. But I didn’t share my worries with Percy. Instead, I wrapped him in my arms and kissed him. “We’ll be together, always. No matter what. All of us.” I was scared that River would not be able to go back with us, that they had been born here and would be trapped here. This was not something I said to Percy.  
  
  


Time passed, though I couldn’t say how much. The dream didn’t end. We grew older...until we didn't. 

River grew into an attractive young adult. They began to make trips into the woods and would be gone for long stretches of time only to show up out of the blue. This worried us, at first, until one day they brought a young man their own age to meet us. “He’s of the birch,” River said. 

The young man looked like a birch tree personified. He was polite and shy and very sweet on River. It did not surprise either Percy nor myself when one day River announced that they were going to live together. “Just through the forest, Pop. You can always come visit us, Da.” River did not know that the birch forest went on forever but this world worked for them the same way it worked for us; if they wanted it, it was. 

Then River and the birch man were gone and it was just me and Percy. Life went on for the two of us. 

We made love, we made food, we had fun together. Our bond strengthened every day. The memories of our lives before slowly faded as we spoke of them less and less. Another book came, this one to tell us endless stories. When we got lonely, River would come visit with their lover and later with their children. 

Percy no longer talked about waking up. He didn’t say that he thought we were dreaming. Every night after we made love, Percy lay in my arms and whispered about our shared past to me, “I remember the first time you stepped out of the wheatfield. You were so handsome, Luke, and I wanted you so badly even then. I think I fell in love with you a little even before you kissed me. And you kissed me so filthily. We’ve shared so many kisses but that first one was my favorite.” 

This whispering, confession game was my favorite to play. I loved to revisit my birth and the first time that I saw Percy. “I remember seeing you in the stream for the first time, a beautiful young thing playing in the water. I was drawn to you. You were so beautiful and the way you touched me, Percy, I knew I would never be happy without you.” Here, I would smile and turn my voice teasing. “I was lucky you didn’t bite my tongue the first time I kissed you. Did you want me as much as I wanted you?” 

“Yes, yes,” Percy whispered and his lips met mine. “Always and forever, I want you. You’re the whole world, Luke. I think I was born in that stream for you, so that we could love each other and make River.” 

I couldn’t help but kiss him now, kiss him as I had the day we met when we met on the streambed ladened with blooming flowers. “Yes,” I murmured against Percy’s lips. “Yes, that’s what happened exactly. I was born for you and our love made River.” 

We went on and on and on. River and the birch man brought us grandchildren and when those ones grew up, they found their lovers in fox and in snake, in snow and in rain. Just as Percy and I had found each other as wheat and stream. So it went on and on. 

Hermes spent many days in his home on Olympus staring at a painting hung upon his wall. He had become something of a recluse these past thousand years. The other gods still teased him about it, but it was light teasing because they knew that Hermes had a very important job to do. 

Hermes was the keeper of two souls; Percy Jackson and his own son, Luke Castellan. 

Unlike most of the souls that Hermes ferried to the Underworld, that was not what he did with Luke and Percy’s souls. It had been a stroke of genius, a last ditch effort to keep the two demigods from destroying each other and the whole world. This was the only way to keep Luke safe and to make up for how Hermes abandoned him. 

The painting was made of magic. It showed a wheat field, a stream with wildflowers on the banks, a large golden moon, a small red cabin, a white birch forest. All of the gods contributed and none of them were subtle in putting their own signs and symbols. Particularly not when it came to those who were inclined to love and pregnancy and childbirth. That was Eros’ idea, the pregnancy and giving them a child. He had said that if they had something to love - besides each other - it would make the magic binding them there that much stronger. 

Hermes was ever grateful that Percy was Poseidon’s son because the demigod of the sea was flexible in all things, including his biology. That made it easier to get him pregnant. Though it was odd to have a grandchild - an entire family! - who lived only in a portrait. 

In any case, Eros had been right. 

Percy and Luke had their growing family, their limitless love, their perfect life, and in their heart of hearts, they didn’t want to leave any of it for the real world. They forgot everyone except each other because it was easier, and then they forgot the past because that was easier too. 

The downfall of Olympus was averted, Kronos was not raised, and the two demigods got to rest in the loving embrace of the ones they loved most. And if Hermes missed his son, and missed Percy’s dry sarcasm, well, it wasn’t so bad. They weren’t really gone. Hermes could check up on them whenever he wanted to. 

It was a happy ending, for everyone who mattered.

**Author's Note:**

> I rewrote this six times but I’m finally happy with it. The plot has changed from that first telling. The only thing that hasn't changed is the scene where Luke wakes up in the field and kisses Percy for the first time. Title is from the song Under Your Skin by Aesthetic Perfection...it isn't quite as relevant as it was before rewriting but I decided to keep it anyway.


End file.
